Knowledge @ Noon - Productivity in Your Business (Māpua)

Presenter: Richard Steel - Enterprise Excellence Group

Purpose
Help recognise where productivity is being lost through delays, rework, bottlenecks, inconsistent processes and day-to-day firefighting.

The session will introduce continuous improvement in straightforward business language and provide participants with practical tools they can use immediately.

The session will cover

• what productivity means in a small-business setting
• the difference between being busy and being productive
• common causes of lost time, effort and margin
• the relationship between quality problems and productivity
• a simple approach to continuous improvement
• how to select and test one manageable improvement
• a brief reference to where digital tools or AI may support an improved process

Participant outcomes

By the end of the session, participants should:

• recognise common productivity problems in their business
• identify one process worth improving
• understand a simple continuous-improvement approach
• leave with one practical action to take back to work

BYO Lunch

Richard Steel Bio

Richard is an experienced business improvement practitioner, facilitator and author who brings together more than 30 years of international experience with a practical, people-centred approach to improving productivity, quality and operational performance.

He has worked with organisations across manufacturing, supply chain, food and beverage, healthcare, local government, financial services and other sectors in New Zealand and internationally.

Richard’s work focuses on helping leaders and teams understand how work really happens, identify delays, bottlenecks, rework and recurring problems, and develop practical improvements that deliver measurable and sustainable results.

Now based in Nelson Tasman, Richard works with SMEs and larger organisations through focused reviews, practical workshops, coaching and improvement projects.

Richard’s Qualifications and Experience

• More than 30 years’ international experience in continuous improvement, productivity and operational performance
• Kaizen Institute Global Consultant of the Year, 2010
• Co-author of Creating a Kaizen Culture
• Contributor to Gemba Kaizen and other international publications
• Accredited Shingo Institute facilitator